


Watch Me Unfold

by MidnightStorm6593



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-30
Updated: 2012-07-29
Packaged: 2017-11-11 01:09:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/472784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightStorm6593/pseuds/MidnightStorm6593
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bonnie was just trying to keep herself together. And Damon? Well, Damon was always off the rails one way or another. It was the beginning of a very strange friendship and possibly even more. Alternate S2. Bamon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blame

**Author's Note:**

> I began writing this shortly after season 2 aired. Posting originally began on FF.net.

He was the last person on the face of this planet that she wanted to see tonight, but she just didn’t have the energy to tell him to go away. She didn’t even feel like saying a single word to him and he didn’t move to speak either.

Elena had made sure she got home safely and even asked Bonnie if she wanted her to stay the night. Bonnie had almost told her yes, that she needed someone there after she realized that Caroline was no longer Caroline, but a part of her also blamed Elena.

Elena was the one who had to go and fall for a vampire who had a homicidal maniac as a brother with a crazy ex-girlfriend for added baggage. If it wasn’t for her, things could still have been normal.

Maybe she would have gone on believing that Grams was a senile old woman. Maybe she would have never realized she had powers. If it wasn’t for Stefan and Damon, she would have never even needed them in the first place.

It wasn’t entirely fair to blame Elena. Bonnie knew that, she really did. It wasn’t like one got to choose who they fall in love with. Stefan made Elena happy and she deserved to be happy after all the tragedy that had befallen her.

Stefan…she couldn’t help but blame him a bit, too. Even more so than she blamed Elena, yet slightly less than she blamed Damon. If Stefan had never come back to Mystic Falls, Damon wouldn’t have followed him and neither would have Katherine and again, Bonnie would have gotten to keep her nice, _normal_ life. She already knew Stefan felt guilty enough for about a majority of what he had done in the hundred plus years of his life.

She ended up telling Elena that she didn’t need to stay with her. That she should go find Stefan or go get some sleep or something. Bonnie had planned on getting sleep anyway.

She laid in bed for what felt like hours. In reality it hadn’t even been more than half an hour. Either way she couldn’t sleep and she knew just lying there, tossing and turning wouldn’t help her achieve her goal anyway. Sleep had been harder and harder to come by ever since Gram’s death.

She hastily threw on the clothes she had been wearing early, not even sure where she had been planning to go at first, but she eventually found herself in the woods outside that stupid tomb. The place where her life had started going downhill.

It wasn’t unusual for Bonnie to come here. Grams’ burial site was far away where Bonnie’s extended family lived, so this place had become a sort of makeshift memorial for her. She ended up sitting there, cross-legged, staring blankly ahead, not even sure what to think.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there, but the next thing she knew, Damon was sitting right next to her. They didn’t look at each other or even acknowledge each other for that matter.

Bonnie supposed that this was where Damon’s life began falling apart, too, when he found out that Katherine hadn’t been in the tomb. She didn’t have it in her to dredge up any sympathy for him, though.

After what felt like an eternity, Bonnie was the first one sto speak. “I blame you,” she whispered. “I blame you for everything.”

What she didn’t tell him and never would was: _I blame you and everyone else for everything that goes wrong because it’s so much easier than blaming myself. It’s not like you really give a damn about it, anyway._

“I know,” he told her. He still didn’t look at her.

She probably should have left it at that, but more words came tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them. “Elena should have let me finish torching you.”

Damon let out a soft scoff. “Of course.”

“Everything bad that happens around here _is_ your fault. It always connects back to  you one way or another.”

“Mmhmm,” he hummed. He had stayed nonchalant through her entire tirade and Bonnie figured that he really didn’t have a conscience or a heart to care.

“If you had left town or not even come back in the first place, a lot of lives wouldn’t be ruined.” _Especially mine,_ she didn’t add.

“You know, I’m curious about something, Glinda,” he paused for dramatic effect. “Does projecting all your guilt onto me _really_ make you feel any better.”

That comment hit a little too close to home and she wasn’t sure if she should hurtle him into a world of pain with her powers or run as fast as she could. The last thing she wanted was to be psychoanalyzed by anyone, lest of all _him._

She scoffed at him and pushed herself off the ground, brushing bits of dead leaves off her clothing. “What are you even doing here?” she snapped.

“I was taking care of the body left over from our new vampire Barbie and I sensed a little witch nearby,” Damon replied conversationally.

“Do you ever find your total disregard for life disturbing?” Bonnie spat at him.

“Nope.”

“And yet you wonder why there are some many issues between us.” She turned and headed back to her car, not wanting to let him respond. She could feel his icy eyes boring holes into her back.

*   *  *  *  *

The next time she saw Damon was at night, the same day she had reluctantly spelled a day walking ring for Caroline. She had stopped by the Grille to grab a quick dinner when he found her there.

She threw money down on the table to cover the bill and attempted to make a quick escape when he took a seat at her table.

“What do you want?” she snapped. She picked up her back, still intent on making her getaway.

“Well, there’s many things I want. Fame, fortune…”

She glared at him.

“Oh, you mean in this particular instance? Well, I came here for a drink or two or maybe even ten and then I saw my favorite witch and decided I may as well stop for a friendly chat,” he told her.

“Our conversations are hardly friendly,” she replied, tapping a short fingernail on the surface of the table. Her nerves had been frayed for months and she found herself constantly chewing on them. She turned to leave, but before she could he had to open that amazingly huge mouth of his again.

“I came here to ask how you even have any friends, considering the way you treat them.”

“Funny,” she scoffed, feeling a wave of defensiveness and anger rise up in her. “I wonder the same about you.”

“I’m serious,” he said, reaching out to grab her wrist and pull her back into her previously vacated seat. “Caroline could obviously use the support of her friends, so she doesn’t lose it and go on a rampage and you couldn’t make it any more obvious that you hate her.”

Bonnie felt her mouth actually drop open at the one. It took her a moment to regain her speech. “How…” she shook her head, her dark curls slapping her cheeks. “How could you possibly say that to me after everything _you’ve_ done to Caroline?”

“It’s me. People would expect it from me. Not from you.”

“What, are you trying to get brownie points from Elena for this or something?” Bonnie asked snidely.

“Not a bad idea,” he mused. “I’m not exactly of BFFs list right now.”

“Shocker. I mean all you did was try to kill her brother,” she replied sarcastically. “You can try to be self-righteous all you want, which I’m sure you find it ironic that I’m the one calling you that,” she interjected when she saw his mouth open to make a smart comment. “You failed to consider one thing. What about me?” she asked.

It was a question that had been bubbling up in her for a while now and she never thought she’d be asking Damon that question, but she was on a roll now and there was no stopping.

“Caroline has Elena and Stefan and apparently even you and you all have each other in your dysfunctional little support group, so what about me?” she asked. “I didn’t even know vampires existed until you were literally ripping my throat out. I already know I’m being a horrible friend. I don’t need you to tell me that. I’m not stupid. Right now, I’m trying to deal with my own issues.”

She stood up to leave once again. “You should try doing the same before you really screw things up again. Elena’s a very forgiving person and she’ll probably end up forgiving you after a little while, but everyone has their limits.”

Bonnie turned and left, wishing that she had just kept her mouth shut. She had just shared more with _Damon_ than she had with Elena for a very long time and she was sure it would come back to bite her in the ass. Every little thing she did nowadays seemed to do that.


	2. Baby Steps

The last thing Bonnie expected was to find Damon Salvatore outside her window late at night. She had no idea what he was doing there and she honestly didn’t care to find out. Their past two encounters exceeded her lifetime quota and she was not in the mood for anymore awkward heart to hearts with Damon.

Not to mention it was mildly creepy to find him staring at her through her window. She supposed it could have been way more awkward, though. At least she was decently dressed.

“What the hell are you doing?” She snapped after she opened the window.

“Have you ever noticed that you start our conversations with pretty much the same line? Don’t you ever find it boring?”

“No,” she replied shortly, moving to close the window. At least he wasn’t able to come into her home.

His hand shot out to stop her. “I came here to tell you that you need to be careful.”

“Careful? Of what?” She asked, raising a thing dark eyebrow.

“Apparently we now have a werewolf problem. Mason Lockwood nearly killed me and Stefan today and was ready to do the same to Elena and Caroline,” he explained, taking a seat on her roof. He knew better than to try and get an invitation inside. “Oh, and now Liz knows about us. Well, she knows about everyone except you.”

“Sheriff Forbes? But she’s a part of the Council—” She broke off as another thought occurred to her. “You didn’t…”

“No, I didn’t kill her,” Damon answered, rolling his icy eyes. “I don’t kill every single person I come into contact with. Besides, I kinda like Liz. We’re just keeping her with us until the vervain is out of her system and we can compel her into forgetting everything.”

“The entire Council hates vampires and if Sheriff Forbes knows that Caroline is a vampire…” Bonnie trailed off.

“She refuses to even acknowledge the fact that Caroline is her daughter now,” Damon replied. “Still think she couldn’t use you?”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you actually feel bad for her,” Bonnie scoffed.

“That doesn’t sound like me does it?”

“Of course not.” She went to close the window again, but he reached out and grasped the sleeve of the oversized sweater she was wearing. It was the only thing of hers that he could get ahold of because part of it had fallen outside of the safety of her home.

His fingers brushed the soft skin of her wrist and she caught a glimpse of another world. There was a tall, thin man who looked very stern and a younger Stefan and Damon.

_“Vampires are creatures that come from the darkest parts of hell. They have the ability to seduce your mind and spirit and they must be destroyed along with any who stand with them.”_

Her vision couldn’t have lasted more than a minute, but Damon clearly knew something was up.

“What did you see?” he asked.

 _Good question,_ she thought. “It wasn’t anything important.”

“Then why not tell me?”

Bonnie knew he wouldn’t be pleased with the fact that she had gotten a peek into his past, but he clearly wasn’t going to let it go. “You and Stefan when you were maybe a few years younger than I am now. You were with your father and he was lecturing you on the evils of vampires,” she told him.

“He gave us one of those lectures almost every day,” Damon snorted. “They were all the same: vampires are evil and must be destroyed, etcetera, etcetera.”

“Is that why you sympathize with Caroline?” Bonnie asked. She wasn’t entirely sure what to think. Last time she checked, Damon Salvatore was shallower than a kiddie pool, yet now she was uncovering a whole new depth to him.

“Hardly,” he replied. “You think I’m heartless? I have nothing on my father. He gunned both me and Stefan down because we tried to save Katherine. I never had the misfortune to see him after I turned like Stefan did.”

Damon had said it so nonchalantly, but Bonnie found herself taking a step back, horrified. “Your own father killed you?”

“Don’t get too hung up on it.” He rolled his eyes at her. “I’m already it over it. Although, I’m curious why you would see him of all things.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just get what I get. I have no control over it.”

He hummed noncommittally and lifted himself into a crouch. “I meant what I said earlier; be careful. If Mason sees you with Elena, he’ll put two and two together. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, silver does shit against werewolves. I already tried.”

“You started the entire fight, didn’t you?” She accused, placing a hand on her hip, knowing that she probably didn’t need his answer to know he did/

“I suppose you could say I did.” He shrugged. “Stefan didn’t, though. He actually tried to call a truce. Obviously, that didn’t work out so well, so watch your back.”

“And you came here to warn me out of the goodness of your heart?” Bonnie asked sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Of course not,” he replied, humoring her skepticism. “I came here to warn you because we’ll probably need you and your witchy juju later and it’d be a damn shame if something happened before then.”

“ _Goodnight,_ Damon,” she said, moving to close the window for the third time.

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite…or should I say werewolves? Or would you prefer vampires?” With that, he sped off into the night, leaving a bemused Bonnie behind.

 

*   *   *   *   *

 

Less than a week later after her strange late night conversation with Damon, Bonnie was at the Lockwood mansion, decorating for the upcoming Masquerade Ball.

 _Only in a small town like this would you find formal events about every other week,_ Bonnie thought dryly.

She watched Mrs. Lockwood run around in what Caroline once dubbed ‘queen bitch mode’, dictating how were to be set things up. Bonnie and Elena could only bite their lips and smile, not quite having the heart to tell Caroline that she had a tendency to act the same exact way at these sorts of things.

It seemed like it was an entire lifetime ago since things were that simple. She would have given just about anything to return to those days.

“You’re here,” Elena said softly, as she watched Bonnie approach with a cardboard box full of candle.

“I’m here,” Bonnie replied dully, setting the box down. This was the first time she had seen or spoken to Elena since the whole mess at the carnival.

“Caroline’s not coming, I told you,” Elena said as she began to take the candles out of the box and place them in the candlesticks.

“Just making sure,” the witch replied, taking candles out of the box and setting them down on the table. After seeing what Caroline had done at the carnival, she didn’t want to risk it happening here.

“You know, eventually you’re going to have to talk to her,” Elena told Bonnie, pausing her work to look at her friend.

With those words, something inside Bonnie snapped a bit and she could feel the frustration well up in the pit of her stomach. “Could you make it a little less obvious that you’re on her side?”

“There’s no sides, Bonnie!”

“Come on, Elena. We haven’t seen or spoken to each other since Caroline became a vampire.” She paused for a moment, trying to choose her next words. “Losing Caroline was bad enough. I didn’t think I’d lose you, too.”

“Come with me,” Elena said, moving past Bonnie, away from the table.

“Where?” She asked her friend, turning to look at her but otherwise not budging form her spot.

“Somewhere quiet,” the cute brunette replied, extending her hand towards Bonnie. “We need to talk.”

Bonnie hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was a talk she really wanted to have. On the other hand, it wouldn’t make much sense for her to complain about how she hasn’t spoken to Elena and then refuse to, though. She nodded and then took her friend’s hand.

They walked around the lake, heading towards the other side as Elena told her what had happened with Tyler’s uncle, how she and Stefan were pretending to fight to avoid Katherine’s wrath, and how Caroline somehow got trapped as a pawn in the middle of it all.

“I can’t believe this…” Bonnie said softly as they crossed the little bridge and headed towards the small bench that lay on the other side. The pit of loneliness in her stomach seemed to have grown larger since they began their walk.

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Elena said sympathetically as they sat down.

“It’s not that you and Stefan are pretending to fight. It’s that I didn’t even know you were fighting at all,” she said softly.

For the first time in a long time, she watched Elena struggle for the right words to say. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to keep things from you, but you’ve made it clear where you stand on the whole vampire thing.”

“Yeah,” Bonnie replied, nodding with a sad little smile. “So, then there’s me: the odd man out. I had to hear from _Damon_ of all people that there are werewolves in Mystic Falls.”

Elena’s big brown eyes widened. “Damon told you?”

The witch nodded, still looking directly into her friend’s eyes, seeing the guilt there. She almost wished that she was the type of person who gained some sort of satisfaction in that, but instead it seemed to make that some old pit in her grow even more.

“I’m sorry,” Elena repeated.

“I know where _I_ stand and I know where _you_ stand, but where do _we_ stand?” Bonnie asked quietly. It was a question she had wanted to ask ever since Grams’ death. She remembered when there was a time when she had never even considered questioning her friendship with Elena.

“You’re my best friend, Bonnie.” Elena looked down, picking at one of her cuticles. “I never meant for all this craziness to get in the way of that, but Caroline needs you too, you know,” she said, looking back up to meet Bonnie’s green eyes.

This time Bonnie was the one to break their eyes contact. “Not yet. I just…” she trailed off, not knowing how to tell Elena her feelings. “She’s a vampire. I can’t.” She looked at the preparations going on across the lake. “We should get back.” And with that, she all but ran away from Elena.

In that previous lifetime, the one where everything was simple, this talk would have fixed everything. She would have told Elena all about her guilt and loneliness and all the pain that had been welling up inside her and her best friend would have found a way to get rid of all of it and they would have laughed about how stupid they were both being and hugged each other.

Now, instead, she found herself hardly able to say anything to Elena and able to say more to a man that she hated. Well, she thought she hated him.

She didn’t know what to think anymore.

 

*   *   *   *   *

 

 _This has got to be the most awkward car ride ever,_ Bonnie thought as she stared out the window. She had unsuccessfully been trying to wipe out the rapid thoughts swimming through her head telling her what a horrible awful thing she was doing. It didn’t help that she couldn’t get her hands to stop shaking.

“Calm down, already,” Damon said, looking at his reluctant passenger. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“By your definition, maybe,” she muttered.

“He’s already threatened everyone but you. He wouldn’t hesitate to come after you, either.”

“That doesn’t make it okay, Damon!” She snapped.

“I told you that he’s a threat to Elena. Would you let him snap her in two just because you think it’s not right to harm him in any way?” He asked, clearly annoyed by Bonnie’s second thoughts.

“Of course not…I just also happen to have a conscience unlike you.” She looked down at her hands. They _still_ hadn’t stopped shaking.

Silence fell like a heavy blanket.

“What if he wakes up before we get to your place?” Bonnie asked nervously.

“Use more of your witchy juju to incapacitate him, then,” Damon responded with an uncaring shrug.

She only sighed and began drumming her fingers against the door, wishing that the old Salvatore boarding house was closer to the Lockwood mansion instead of on the other side of town.

“If you keep that up, I might knock you out, too,” he told her.

“Try it. I’ll just be using my witchy juju to incapacitate _you,_ ” she replied, glaring at him.

“So, there’s the mean little witch I know. For a second I was worried you were an imposter.”

“Damon?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

He chuckled, but did as she requested.

When they finally reached his place, he went to unload Mason from the trunk.

_So, so awkward…_

“Mind getting his bag?” he asked her as he headed into the house.

For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Bonnie sighed. This was all just so very, very bad. She pulled the bag from the trunk. Whatever was inside of it clanked loudly and it was heavier than she had expected, but she could manage it.

She hauled it inside and dropped it on a chair with a dry, “As you requested.”

“Grab that corner,” he said pointing at a white tarp that was spread out underneath the chair he had put Mason on.

“Why are we doing this?” She asked as she helped him spread it out.

“’Cause I don’t want to get blood on the carpet.”

 _And here comes another sleepless night._ “I knew you were going to say something like that.”

“You’re judging again.”

Bonnie sighed and stood up. “He won’t be out much longer,” she said, looking down at the werewolf.

“Looks like this guy’s used to being tied up,” Damon said after he pulled out a slightly tangled mass off chains and ropes from the bag she had brought in.

 _Okay, time to speed things up before you finally lose all your nerve, Bonnie,_ she told herself. She went and carefully took Mason’s head in her hands.

“What are you doing?” Damon asked as he moved to secure the werewolf to the chair.

“You’re looking for the moonstone and I’m trying to find it,” she snapped.

“Oh. Good. While you’re at it, find out if he gave it to Katherine,” he snapped one of the chains shut, “Find out where she is,” another snap, “And find out what they’re going to do with it when they get it.”

Bonnie gritted her teeth and tried to concentrate. “It’s in a…well? That can’t be right…” She tried to concentrate harder. “Yeah, it’s in a well.”

“Why would it be in a well?” Damon asked.

 _How the hell should I know?_ She looked up at him, clearly annoyed. “I already told you; I only get what I get.”

Suddenly Mason lurched forward and grabbed onto her wrist and she heard herself emit a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a squeak.

“No,” Damon growled. He used one hand to pull her away from the werewolf and another hand to remove his iron grip from her wrist.

 _And there goes my nerves. They’re officially gone now._ She quickly backed away from Mason. “That’s it. That’s all I got.” Bonnie then moved to make her getaway.

“Hey, Judgy,” he called out, causing her to stop and turn towards him. “Thank you.”

She felt her lips quirk up in to a small half smile and as she turned to continue leaving, it suddenly hit her that Damon was the only one who ever bothered to say thank you anymore.

 

 *   *   *   *   *

 

It was another sleepless night just like she knew it would be and as always, she found herself standing outside of the tomb.

It had been nice to be with Elena and Caroline again. It would have been just like old times if it wasn’t for moonstones and vervain-filled wells with vervain poisoned vampire boyfriends.

Okay, so it was basically nothing like old times, but it was nice to be with her friends again. It was nice to know that Caroline really was still Caroline after all.

She still couldn’t help but wish for that lifetime ago when her biggest worry was how she was going to pass her next history test, though.

She felt as if she basically signed Mason Lockwood’s death warrant today and she suppose she had. Not to mention it had only added fuel to Katherine’s fire since she decided to take her anger out on poor Jenna.

 _What would Grams say about all this?_ She wondered. _I think she’d be angry at me for working with vampires so much, but I don’t know how else to keep everyone safe. I feel like every move I make  is wrong._

“Do you really think it’s a good idea coming here alone all the time. You know, with a crazy ex-girlfriend on the loose and all?” A familiar voice said behind her.

Bonnie turned to look at him. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t find it the least bit annoying.

“You have guilty face,” Damon told her.

“So do you,” she replied.

“Really?” he asked, clearly humoring her.

“Well, maybe not guilt since we both know you don’t have a conscience, but you do have that look on your face you always get whenever you screw something up,” she explained. “Although, really, considering everything you do, you should really be wearing that look _all_ the time,” she added as an afterthought.

“Funny."

Silence fell between them.

“I shouldn’t have egged Katherine on,” he said quietly.

To say Bonnie was surprised by his admission would have been a big understatement. “No, you shouldn’t have,” she agreed. “But then again…” she ran a tired hand through her dark curls. “Who am I to talk? I shouldn’t have helped you with Mason.”

Damon didn’t reply. Probably because he had already been through with her on why she shouldn’t feel guilty about Mason. She was just too righteous for her own good.

They lapsed back into a silence, only this time it felt strangely comfortable.

If Bonnie didn’t know any better, she’d say that their relationship was starting to take baby steps in a positive direction.

Maybe it was a sign that the world was coming to an end.


	3. Bittersweet

“Come in,” Caroline said much more seriously than was normal for her, opening the door to the old Salvatore boarding house for the witch to step inside.

“Oh good, you brought the Grimoire, thank you,” Stefan said to her.

Bonnie was too preoccupied with what was going on in the living room to really pay attention, though. It looked like a scene straight out of _Buffy_ with Damon and Alaric concentrating on a table full of wooden stakes and other weapons clearly meant to kill a vampire. The irony that this was taking place in a vampire’s home was not lost on her.

“What’s going on?” Bonnie asked Stefan, not sure if she really wanted the answer to that question. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good. There was never a whole lot of good going on these days.

“We’re going to kill Katherine,” Jeremy said flippantly, walking by Bonnie. She could only blink in response.

_…What?_

“I can explain…” Stefan told her sheepishly.

“Please,” she replied, nodding.

“We’re…going to kill Katherine.” He then went to join the others at the weapons table.

_…Okay, then…_

Going over to join them, she could hear Alaric explaining to Damon how to use the various pieces of equipment to kill a vampire.

_So, so ironic…_

In the end, they had finally come up with a semblance of a plan. It wasn’t particularly the greatest plan, but no one else was able to come up with anything better…or _anything_ else for that matter. That didn’t mean that she still didn’t have her reservations, though.

She stood there for a moment with Stefan, nervously chewing on her lower lip because at this point she had already chewed of whatever was left of her nails.

“This is very risky, Stefan,” she said finally. “A lot of people could get hurt.”

“I know that,” Stefan replied, nodding gravely. “If there was a better way of doing this, we’d do it, but there isn’t. Katherine won’t stop until she’s dead or she gets what she wants.”

Bonnie sighed. “You’re right. I know that. I just…”

“I know,” Stefan said, placing a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “I don’t like this either, but it has to be done. It’s not fair that we keep asking so much of you and if there was anyone else who could do it, we’d ask them.”

“Thanks, Stefan,” she said with a small smile. “I’m sure everything will work out between you and Elena once this is over with. I know she misses you.”

It was obvious to Bonnie that Elena missed him. She never vocalized it

Stefan smiled at her and gave her shoulder a grateful squeeze before walking away.

“Perk up, Judgy,” Damon said, brushing past her, towards the stairs. He paused, turning to look at her. “Soon we’ll get to sing ‘ding dong the bitch is dead’.” Then with a charming smile, he went upstairs, leaving a slightly amused Bonnie behind.

 

 *   *   *   *   *

 

“This is just like old times!” Caroline gushed enthusiastically to Bonnie. They were in Bonnie’s room preparing for the masquerade ball.

“You mean besides the fact that we’re plotting to kill an evil vampire who looks just like our best friend. The best friend who’s not coming to the masquerade because of her aunt that stabbed herself because of said crazy vampire,” Bonnie replied dryly, holding up a pair of earrings for inspection.

“No need to be such a killjoy,” the blonde vampire pouted. “I just meant it’s nice to do little things like getting ready for a dance together. You know, stuff we used to do.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Bonnie told her, slipping the earrings on. “I don’t mean to act so bitchy. I’m just nervous about tonight. A lot of people are going to get hurt if something goes wrong.”

It was all the witch had been able to think about all day. She actually envied Elena a bit because she wasn’t going to be there to see whatever carnage there was. Bonnie almost wished she was small enough to crawl under her duvet and proclaim that she was never coming out again ever.

“That’s why you have to enjoy little moments like these, getting ready for dances and stuff,” Caroline advised. “They’re few and far in between, but they’re still there.”

Bonnie looked at Caroline, feeling a little awestruck. Normally that was the sort of thing Elena would say to make everyone feel better and Caroline would then demand help with picking out shoes and jewelry.

“What?” Caroline asked defensively, seeing Bonnie’s look.

“Nothing,” Bonnie replied, shaking her head. “It’s just that…you sound different.”

Caroline put down the shoes she had been examining and nudged Bonnie over to take a seat next to her on the little vanity bench.

“Things are different,” Caroline told her. Bonnie could see she was struggling to try and find the right words. “I mean, we’re on a mission to kill an evil vampire to save our best friend who happens to be dating another vampire who also has a vampire brother.”

“That’s sounds like a _really_ bad book or something,” Bonnie replied with a little laugh.

“It does,” Caroline agreed with a laugh. “Really, though, I can’t deny that I have changed a bit. I’ve had to do some growing up.” She paused for a small moment. “I haven’t changed _that_ much, though, so help me pick out shoes! I need to blow Matt away with how gorgeous I’ll look, so _everything_ has to be absolutely _perfect!_ ”

Bonnie couldn’t help but smile at that. Caroline was definitely still Caroline.

“Caroline…I’m sorry about how I acted when…”

Caroline shook her head. “It’s fine. We’re okay now. So. Shoes. Help. _Now.”_

 

*   *   *   *   *

 

Bonnie stood just inside the doors of the Lockwood mansion, trying to gather her thoughts together. To say that it had been a hell of a night would have been a huge understatement.

Stefan had given her a call earlier to let her know what had happened with Lucy and Katherine.

Damon had apparently decided to lock Katherine in the tomb instead of killing her. It was an idea Bonnie wasn’t too pleased with. She told Stefan they would be better off just killing her right then and there because, knowing Katherine, she’d find a way out of the tomb.

“Our plan was to kill her,” Bonnie pointed out.

At the point Damon had snatched the phone from Stefan and told her that the plan had clearly been shot to hell anyway and hung up.

She still couldn’t figure out how she knew she could trust Lucy in the first place. The feeling that she could trust someone that implicitly was the first time she had felt that way ever since Grams had died. It made her a bit worried, knowing what the outcome could have been if it turned out that she shouldn’t have trusted Lucy at all.

Bonnie had been so wrapped in all her thoughts that she barely even noticed Lucy brushing right past her.

“Wait,” Bonnie cried out, running after her, nearly tripping on the ridiculously high heels Caroline had forced her into wearing.

“I’m sorry about that spell,” Lucy said, turning around. “Damn vampires pull you into the middle of it every time,” she muttered. It was a sentiment Bonnie could definitely relate to.

“How do I know you?” Bonnie asked her. “I mean, how did I know I could trust you?”

“That feeling you had…did you ever get it before?”

“Usually around my family,” Bonnie replied before pausing. “Especially my Grams.”

Lucy then launched into an explanation of family relations that Bonnie wasn’t able to quite wrap her head around except for the fact that she and Lucy were related. It hadn’t been the first time she had met anyone from her extended family. Most of them had been in Salem with her after Grams had died. But having family right there in front of her who actually understood what being a witch was about who understood about being dragged into vampire problems…she didn’t quite have the words for it.

“I don’t want to be the in the middle either! I hate it. Please…how do I stay out of it?” The words came tumbling out of Bonnie’s mouth before she even thought them.

“You’re one of the good ones unlike me, Bonnie,” Lucy told her. “You’re exactly where you need to be.” With that, she was gone, but not before promising Bonnie that she’d see her again.

“Can I offer you a ride?” Jeremy asked, coming up from behind her.

Bonnie jumped slightly a little embarrassed that he was seeing her cry. What was there to cry about? Katherine was out of the picture and they could go back to their not so normal lives.

“Everything okay?” he asked, clearly concerned.

“Yeah, yeah…I just…” Bonnie trailed off, not sure how to describe her rollercoaster emotions to him. “When did you get your driver’s license?”

“I’m not a kid anymore, Bonnie,” he told her with a small smile.

 Looking at him, Bonnie realized he was right. She never noticed until now, but he was a good head taller than her even when she was in heels. It was more than that, though. Looking at him, she could tell that with everything that had happened to him, he had changed.

 _Everyone’s changed…_ Bonnie thought. She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not.

“I’d love a ride,” Bonnie told him.

 

*   *   *   *   *

 

When Bonnie emerged from the bathroom after having changed into comfortable clothes and wiping off the fifteen pounds of makeup Caroline had made her wear, Bonnie noticed Damon outside her window.

 _Again?_ She thought. _This is starting to remind of when he was stalking me and Emily was haunting me._ A shudder ran up her spine at those memories and she touched her neck where Damon had bit her all those months ago. It was something she certainly didn’t want a repeat of.

“Are you turning this into a habit?” Bonnie asked dryly when she opened up the window.

“Well, after sticking Katherine in the tomb, we kind of lost ‘our spot’ for heartfelt talks and I figured this would do,” he replied.

“Or we could skip the heartfelt talks and go back to hating each other,” she suggested.

“ _Go back_ to hating each other? Why, Bonnie, are you implying that you no longer hate me? I think we’re making progress.” He gave her a charming smile that was really more of a smirk.

Bonnie rolled her eyes in response. “Don’t get too excited. Soon enough, I’m sure you’ll do something to royally piss me off as always.” She paused. “Any particular reason you’re stalking me outside of my window tonight?”

“Because you don’t have manners enough to invite me inside.”

“I don’t have a death wish, you mean,” she corrected.

He just gave her a look and said, “If I really wanted you dead all that badly I’ve had plenty of opportunities to make it happen.”

_Point taken._

Bonnie sighed. “Okay, Damon, what are you really doing here?”

 “I was wondering what was up with the other witch tonight. Giving her the moonstone? That was way too risky, Bonnie, not to mention stupid. Especially considering she was helping _Katherine.”_

“She’s family,” Bonnie replied quietly. “I mean, she’s a really distant second cousin twice removed or something like that and I didn’t even meet her until tonight, but she’s family. That’s how I knew I could trust her.”

“Right, and if it turned out she had played you, what then?” he replied, skeptically.

“She wouldn’t and she didn’t, so it’s a moot point,” Bonnie replied with a shrug. She didn’t really expect Damon to understand the concept of family, considering he spent the better part of a hundred years trying to ruin his brother’s life…well, un-life.

“Now,” Bonnie continued. “If you’re done patronizing me for the night, I’m going to bed.” She waited for Damon to leave, but instead he just crouched in her windowsill.

“In case you didn’t catch that, that was a hint for you to leave. Unless you’ve taken up on Edward Cullen’s stalking tendencies,” she told him dryly.

“You read that pile of crap?” he asked with a snort. “Sorry, Bonnie, but I thought you were a bit smarter than that.”

“Caroline made me _and_ Elena read it,” Bonnie replied. “I’m sure it did drop my IQ down some points, but if I didn’t know any better, it sounds to me like _you’ve_ read it.” She could feel a little smirk curl across her lips when she pictured Damon actually trying to read _Twilight._

“Katherine’s all nice and not-so-cozy in the tomb now,” Damon told Bonnie, artfully dodging the bullet she had just thrown at him.

“I still think we should have staked her. That way you don’t have to worry about her getting out somehow,” she told Damon with a frown.

“I think this is much more poetic.”

“So I’ll take it that revenge was everything you thought it would be and more,” she remarked dryly. But when she looked at Damon, _really_ looked at him she could see something was off. It wasn’t obvious because he acted normal and he was just so… _Damon_ , but his eyes seemed to tell a different story. They looked uncertain. “Or not…” she added quietly.

“What makes you think I wouldn’t be? After spending over a hundred years playing fool to that bitch, I’m glad she’s out of my life for good now,” he replied dismissively.

Bonnie had the feeling this was going to end up being a long conversation. _Might as well get comfortable._ She opened the window wider to climb out and sit next to the vampire. Damon looked surprised, but moved over to give her room. A few months ago, hello, even a few weeks ago, she might have been worried that he’d push her off the roof or something, but like he said, he could have easily killed her a long, long time ago.

“If you’re so happy about it, why don’t you look like it?”

“When do I ever look happy?” Damon retorted sarcastically.

“Sometimes you do. I mean, it’s not an obvious kind of happy, when you are you have this little smile on your face and it shows in your eyes. Your eyes are basically an open book to your feelings,” she told him.

Damon looked at her and she could see the amused smirk splitting across his face. “Why, Bonnie, have you been admiring me from afar?”

She gave a very unladylike snort at that. “Hardly. You’re in my face so much that I’m bound to notice little things about you every now and then.”

He gave a noncommittal hum, but didn’t add further comment.

“Locking Katherine up in the tomb really wasn’t what you thought it would be, was it?” she asked softly.

He didn’t respond. Or even look at her, for that matter.

“It’s okay, you know. I mean, you spent over a hundred years in love with her. Granted, it was misguided and you mowed down a lot of people in your warpath to get her back only to find out how stupid you really were, but still, feelings like that don’t just simply go away in a few months or weeks.”

He was silent for a few moments before he gave a small chuckle.

“What?” Bonnie asked defensively, looking at his profile. She noticed he wouldn’t look at her anymore. Probably because he now knew how easily she could read him.

“If that was supposed to be a pep talk of some sorts it was really _awful,_ ” he told her. “Although I will say that you almost had me at the words ‘misguided’ and ‘stupid’.”

Bonnie felt her lips quirk upwards into a small smile. “It wasn’t really meant to be a pep talk. I’m just saying that if you really did love Katherine that much, then you wouldn’t be over her yet.”

Damon only stared upwards at the stars. They were always bright in Mystic Falls since there weren’t any city lights or skyscrapers to drown them out.

“Thank you, Judgy,” he murmured quietly.

“You’re welcome,” she murmured back. She leaned up against the side of her house and spent the rest of the night looking at the stars with him and inwardly reflecting on her life.

After talking with Jeremy and meeting Lucy and now even just sitting here with Damon, for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel so alone. It was nice.


	4. Rollercoaster

It has been a good day when she woke up. The sun had been shining, Katherine was in the tomb and unable to terrorize anyone anymore and there was no vampires or other supernatural entities that needed to be dealt with right away. Life was on the track to almost normal for once.

It was only natural that that notion would get shot straight to hell within only a few short hours.

Stefan had come up to her in school, panic clearly written across his face and she knew something horrible had happened. She supposed that she shouldn’t have found it surprising, though because just when they tackled one obstacle, and even worse one always came along. It was the new universal law of her life.

“Elena’s missing,” Stefan said, guiding her towards and obscure hallway.

Bonnie could feel her heart leap into her mouth. “Missing? What do you mean missing?”

“No one’s seen her since last night! She never came home!” The vampire let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. “I think Katherine knows something, but Damon thinks we weren’t get any information out of her. Not unless she gets something…is there any way we can get her out of the tomb.”

 _No. Hell no._ She wanted to save Elena, but the idea of getting Katherine out of the tomb (even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to perform the spell successfully, anyway)…

“I couldn’t lift the spell even if I wanted to, Stefan. It took both me and Grams to do it last time and you know what happened then.”

“Okay, but we can still open the door. We can still talk to her, right?”

_He’s grasping at the straws. This is bad, really bad._

“Yeah, but Damon’s right. She won’t tell you anything. Not without getting something in return,” Bonnie replied.

The panic on Stefan’s face seemed to grow and Bonnie could sympathize. There were plenty of scary things in this world and thinking about even a third of what could have happened to Elena was just terrifying.

Trying to maintain a calm façade for Stefan’s sake while simultaneously flipping through a mental catalogue of spells that could be helpful wasn’t an easy feat, either.

“I know, but I have to do something! I have no idea who has Elena or where she is!” Stefan hissed.

For a moment Bonnie didn’t respond, still trying to think of a solution.

“I think I know how to find her.”

And that was how she ended up in Alaric Saltzman’s classroom, explaining to Jeremy Gilbert how the tracking spell would locate his missing sister.

It made her miss the days of when she just floated feathers.

“Okay, we got ten minutes and I’m stocked up on weapons,” Stefan said as entered the classroom, holding a heavy back.

She even missed the days of accidentally starting cars on fire.

Apologetically, she ran a knife across Jeremy’s hand, watching the blood drip onto the map before she closed her eyes and began chanting. She could feel the energy flowing through her, warming her body. She could also feel that same energy seeping out of her body too fast for her comfort.

 _Come on,_ she urged herself. _Just a little longer. It’s a simple enough spell._

Bonnie knew the spell wasn’t the problem, though. She had been doing a lot of magic lately and she was finally starting to feel the effects of it.

When the spell finally finished, she repressed a sigh of relief as her green eyes snapped open. Pointing to where the trail of blood led, she said, “There. She’s there.”

“I need a more exact location, Bonnie,” Stefan said, shaking his head.

“That’s the best I can do,” the witch replied honestly.

While Jeremy assured Stefan that he could narrow down the location and then began arguing about joining him on the rescue mission, Bonnie was gripping the table, trying to stay on her feet.

Head bent low, she suddenly felt a warm wetness on her face and saw crimson droplets splatter onto the map. Curiously, she touched her fingers to her nose. They came back smeared with blood.

 _Oh no..._ she inwardly groaned as she quickly tried to wipe the blood off her face.

“You can’t do this alone,” Jeremy insisted to Stefan.

“He’s not,” she heard Damon say from the doorway. “Let’s go.”

She bent her head lower, her hair hiding her face from view, hoping no one would take any notice of her. There was enough to worry about without her use of magic being added to that list.

“You’re coming with?” Stefan asked, clearly surprised. It wasn’t all that shocking, though. Damon was never one to sit back and let his little brother have all the glory, especially where Elena was concerned.

The older Salvatore saw the witch behind Stefan and he swore he could smell her blood. Something wasn’t right and he had a feeling that he knew exactly what it was. He had known plenty of witches to know what could go wrong with using magic.

“It’s Elena,” Damon said in reply to Stefan’s question. With that, he left. Bonnie could take care of herself. Elena’s crisis was more important at the moment.

“Did you smell the witch’s blood in the classroom?” Damon asked as he and Stefan headed towards his car.

“I wasn’t really paying attention…why? Do you think something’s wrong?” Stefan asked, concern coloring his voice.

“I don’t know,” Damon replied with a shrug. He didn’t see any point in sharing his suspicions with Stefan.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were concerned, Damon,” Stefan said.

Damon gave him an annoyed look as he pulled the driver’s door open.

“We need her magic,” he replied simply.

 

*   *   *   *   *

 

Bonnie and Jeremy had headed over to the Gilbert household to serve as recon and Jeremy was clearly trying to make every effort to not crawl out of his skin. Bonnie, as usual, retained her calm demeanor from earlier even though she felt anything but.

“I hate waiting here,” Jeremy told her.

Bonnie sat down next to him and placed a sympathetic hand on his arm. “Hey, she’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No, I don’t,” she admitted softly. She didn’t really know what else she could tell him. If only she could see or talk to Elena…

She jumped of the bed and ran to her bag.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to try something,” replied as she sat back down on the bed with a notebook and the Grimoire. “I need a candle and Elena’s hairbrush.” She ripped a piece of notebook paper out and quickly scribbled down her simple message.

“What’s all this for?” Jeremy asked when he returned with the items Bonnie had asked for.

“I’m going to try and send her a message.” With that, she extended her arm out, crumbled ball of paper in hand and began to chant. She could feel her energy being sapped away and this time it _hurt._ It was like she was on fire.

 _Almost there…,_ she urged herself. She had to get the message through. She had to let Elena know that everything would be okay soon because it was the only thing she could do at the moment.

Finally, the paper disappeared from her hands and she let go of the magic.

_I did it…I did it…_

She wasn’t entirely sure if she said those words aloud or not, but she thought she heard Jeremy calling her name as darkness crept over her and she collapsed.

 

*   *   *   *   *

 

It felt like a hangover. Actually, it felt worse than a hangover, which was saying something because she could vividly recall a hangover from one of Tyler’s ‘Lockwood Specialties’. She wasn’t about to let Jeremy know how badly she was feeling at the moment, though.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, taking the proffered glass of water.

“What happened? You scared the hell out of me?” he asked, cutting right to the chase.

She had seen that question coming a mile away. It would have been stupid of her to _not_ expect, but it wasn’t one she particularly want to answer.

“It was nothing,” she replied. She knew he wouldn’t take the answer, though.

“It wasn’t nothing.”

She shifted uncomfortably on the bed before answering. “I’ve been doing a lot of magic lately and it’s been wearing me down.”

It was the truth. A light, sugar-coated version of the truth, but still the truth nonetheless. It wasn’t enough for Jeremy, though.

“When I’m worn down I take a nap.” The tone in his voice made it clear to Bonnie that he wasn’t going to let this go anytime soon. “You were _unconscious._ ”

Bonnie sighed. “Witchcraft has its limits. When I push too hard, it pushes me back. I’m not invincible.” That was a face she had been aware of since Grams’ death.

“Please, don’t tell anyone about this,” she pleaded, moving closer to Jeremy.

“Why not?”

She paused, trying to find the right words to explain it to him. “It’s a weakness…and I don’t want certain people to know.”

“By certain people, you mean Damon,” he filled in.

A couple of weeks ago, she would have agreed with that statement, no question about it. Only now…that wasn’t entirely the case.

“I mean from anyone that could hurt me,” she corrected.

“I won’t tell anyone,” he agreed.

She gave him a small smile of thanks. “It’s not that easy, you know,” she admitted quietly. “Grams is gone and my dad doesn’t want to know anything. He hasn’t since my mom left…I’m all alone in this.”

As comforting as it felt to tell Jeremy all of this, she also found it a bit strange. She had known him forever, but they’d never really been friends. They got along well enough (minus that one time she’d kicked him in the shins when he stole her Barbie when she was seven and he was five), but had never really hung out on a regular basis.

“That’s how I feel most of the time…alone,” he agreed and she gave him a small sad smile in return.

“Do you think that worked?” Jeremy asked, quickly changing the subject.

“I have no idea.”

 

*   *   *   *   *

 

Seeing Elena come home safe, albeit a little worse for wear, was one of the most relieving feelings ever to Bonnie.

After spending a few hours at the Gilbert households to make sure things were okay, Bonnie found herself at the Grille, with her third cup of coffee sitting in front of her. The caffeine buzz would probably keep her from much needed sleep, but the warm drink was a comfort to her.

And, as creepy as it might sound, she enjoyed watching people at the Grille. They were all normal, living their normal lives with their normal friends and normal boyfriends and girlfriends. They didn’t know they had to worry about vampires or werewolves or other freakish supernatural entities that could bring those normal lives crashing to a sudden halt like hers did.

She almost envied them.

What she didn’t envy, though, was Damon Salvatore waltzing into the Grille, swaggering straight over to the bar. Clutching her coffee mug in a death grip, she scrunched low in her seat, hoping he wouldn’t notice her. The last thing she needed was him killing her somewhat pleasant vibe.

He had just finished his second shot when he grabbed the bottle and headed to her table.

“This works much better after a long day,” he informed her, offering the bottle as he sat down.

“I’m underage,” she pointed out dryly.

“So? I’m not going to tell on you,” he replied flippantly.

“I’ll stick with the coffee.” She wasn’t about to tell him that she was the world’s biggest lightweight _and_ her body already felt like she had a hangover.

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged and took a large swig from the bottle.

Bonnie didn’t even bother to respond. She just drank her coffee.

“I told Elena that I loved her.”

She promptly spit her coffee out all over the table, which was basically the reaction he had been expecting. Well, that or getting set on fire again.

“Attractive,” he commented dryly.

She ignored his comment, grabbing a napkin to wipe her mouth, while trying to clear her throat of any coffee that had lodged itself there.

“You _what?”_ she croaked. Of all the strange conversations he had had with Damon Salvatore—and she had had some _strange_ ones—this one was definitely going to take the cake.

“I told her I loved her and then I compelled her to forget.” He said it as if he were talking about something as mundane as the weather.

The only thing she could think to say at the moment was, “I’m just going to assume that you’re drunk, even though I’m not entirely sure vampires _can_ get drunk, because you’re telling _me_ this.”

Damon’s lips quirked upwards at that. “We can get drunk. It takes enough alcohol that would kill your average human, but we can.”

“Oh,” she paused. “Then I’m definitely going to stick with my assumption that you’re drunk.”

He rolled his shockingly blue eyes at her. “No, Bonnie, I’m not drunk. I’m planning to be at the end of the night, though.”

He knew the whole situation was just downright stupid. Telling Elena how he felt and then running to her best friend to tell her what he did…that was a whole new level of stupidity for him. He deserved whatever sadistic punishment the little witch would devise for him.

“Wow…” Bonnie didn’t even know where to start. The entire situation was just so… _demented._ Then, she decided that she simply just didn’t want to be the one to deal with it tonight. She had already gone on a rollercoaster ride without this being added in.

“That’s it?” Damon asked with raised eyebrows.

“What do you want me to say, Damon?” Bonnie asked with a sigh. “Don’t you already know how the rest of this conversation is going to go?” Her voice took on a sardonic tone. “I’ll lecture you on how it was wrong to compel Elena and you’ll come up with some smartass excuse. Then, I’ll suggest once again that you’re _still_ not over Katherine and those feelings are being projected onto Elena and you’ll deny it, but I’ll know that you’re lying and you’ll know that I know you’re lying, so you’ll abruptly change the subject.” She paused. “But you know what? I really don’t feel like dealing with this tonight.” Her eyes dropped down to stare at the dark liquid in her mug.

Damon blinked. Well, this was certainly a new attitude. He looked at her weary appearance and thought back to the blood he smelled in the classroom and it hit him.

“You’ve been overusing magic, haven’t you?”

Her big green eyes jerked up at him, clearly surprised.

“I’ve known enough witches over the years to recognize all the signs. I smelled your blood in the classroom earlier, so at the very _least_ you’ve been getting nosebleeds.” He paused to sweep his eyes over her exhausted form again. “Have you passed out yet?”

She opened her mouth to deny it, but she knew it’d be no use. Instead, she shut her mouth, teeth clicking together, and began digging through her bag for money to pay the bill and make a quick getaway.

“Be careful, Judgy,” Damon told her quietly.

“Careful, Damon, I might start to think you actually care,” Bonnie replied sardonically, throwing a few crinkled bills down on the table.

He smirked slightly. “Wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

Bonnie found herself walking away with a small smile on her face.


	5. Collaboration

“This isn’t working,” Bonnie grumbled as she slammed a book shut. “We’ve been at this for days and we haven’t even _begun_ to work on Stefan’s problem.”

“Right now, getting rid of the moonstone is more important than getting Stefan out of the tomb. Even Stefan agrees with that. As I’ve told you before. Repeatedly,” Damon reminded her.

Bonnie threw the book on the table with a frustrated sigh. She knew that destroying the moonstone was the most important thing right. That didn’t change the fact that her guilt over Stefan’s predicament was still eating away at her.

She had grown stronger, but she still couldn’t do enough when it mattered. Even when she had help.

 _Even when I had help…_ The wheels in Bonnie’s head began to turn and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before.

“That’s it!” She said, snapping her fingers excitedly as she grabbed her bag and made to leave.

“What’s it?” Damon asked, his arm shooting out to stop her.

“Well, remember the warlocks I told you about?” Bonnie asked, but continued without waiting for his reply. “Well I think that maybe they’ll know how to get rid of the moonstone.”

“Too risky,” the vampire replied adamantly, shaking his head.

“Well, we don’t have any better ideas at the moment,” Bonnie pointed out.

“That still doesn’t make it a good idea,” he replied dryly.

“Well what else are we supposed to do?” She waved her hands around in an exasperated manner. “I don’t have a clue, you don’t have a clue, Rose doesn’t have a clue.” She couldn’t help the pinched look that she knew came across her face every time she or someone else mentioned the female vampire.

Damon thought they had no reason to trust the Martins, but they had even less reason to trust Rose considering she was the one who kidnapped Elena.

“Look,” Bonnie said, once again not giving him a chance to respond. “Let’s just try again later. Right now, I’m heading over to Jeremy and Elena’s. I’m planning on putting up a barrier in the house to keep her in like you suggested since she clearly isn’t going to stay put for her own good.”

“I’m only asking this out of sick, morbid curiosity, but what’s up with you and the Gilbert kid? He keeps making puppy eyes at you?”

She had to make an effort to not choke on her own spit. Of all the things he could have said to her, prying into her painfully non-existant love life was nowhere even remotely on the list of things she expected from him.

 _Although, really, by now I should have learned to just do away with that list a long time ago…_ she thought wryly.

Ever since that night in the Gilbert’s kitchen, things had been tense and awkward between her and Jeremy and it wasn’t something she was particularly interested in dealing with.

She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t seriously considered what a relationship with Jeremy would be like. Sure, the fact that he was Elena’s little brother automatically added a weirdness factor to it, but looking past that, he was a sweet and dependable guy.

It was all just very, very bad timing.

For all her bravery and bravado, Bonnie still felt like she was searching for who she really was, then there was the whole freakish curse thing and an ancient vampire who just wouldn’t die and then an even older vampire who would probably come to Mystic Falls and slaughter them all. Adding in another factor like a boyfriend would just make things way too complicated.

“I don’t know why you would care, Damon, but there’s between me and Jeremy and I’m not planning on there ever being anything between me and Jeremy.” With that, she stepped around him and ignored the feel of his icy eyes boring into her back as she stepped outside the door.

 

*   *   *   *   *

 _Damon would be so furious if he knew I was here right now,_ Bonnie thought as she raised a fist to knock on the Martin’s apartment door. _Then again, I seem to be on a roll with pissing people off lately…_ She recalled Elena’s look of fury when the pretty brunette discovered that she was literally unable to leave her home.

When Luka opened up the door, his face confirmed that she was definitely on a roll.

“Hi,” she said lamely, holding up the dog tags he has accidentally left in her possession.

He snatched them out of her hand. “I don’t know whether to be more upset that I was the one who showed you how to channel or that you nearly killed me.”

Bonnie nervously bit her lip, wishing she was Elena or Caroline. They had always been able to act cute and coy to stop anyone from being mad at them.

What did she have? A tendency to ramble on and on while telling a sort-of, but not really truth and trying not to make it sound as bad as it really was. It was a talent (or lack thereof) that she was just about to demonstrate.

“I’m so sorry, Luka. I didn’t want to do what I did, but I had to because there’s just things I—”

“I forgive you.” He pushed the door open wider with a smile and gestured for her to enter.

 _Well that was easy,_ Bonnie thought, a little stunned as she entered the apartment.

It looked like every available surface was covered with stacks of old books.

“Is this a grimoire?” she asked when placed a book in her hands. She looked down at it, wondering if all the answers to her questions were right in the thick book she was holding.

“All these are grimoires,” the warlock explained, waving a hand towards the piles and piles of books.

“How did you get all these?” she asked, awed.

She knew Emily had put a ton of knowledge into her grimoire, but Bonnie couldn’t help but wonder if it was insignificant compared to all the information these grimoires possibly held.

“Over the centuries, witches lose their grimoires and my dad’s been obsessed with finding them to keep our family’s heritage.”

She looked around again at all the grimoires. “There’s no way _all_ of this is your family’s.”

“My dad likes to think that witches are all one big family, bonded by a code of loyalty to help each other,” he said.

“So that’s why you’ve been so nice to me.”

“That’s one reason,” Luka replied with a smile.

Feeling her face heat up, Bonnie decided to finally get to the point of her visit. “Would you happen to have any idea how to break a bind between a talisman and a spell?” she asked.

“All spells are unique, but I’m sure we can figure something out,” he said with a nod.

Bonnie smiled, pleased to finally be getting _somewhere._

 

*   *   *   *   *

When Damon entered the Gilbert’s home to find Elena sitting on the living room couch, pouting like a three year old, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease her.

However, when Jeremy walked into the room and began talking, his semi-decent mood quickly went south.

“Where’s Bonnie?” the vampire asked.

“I thought she was meeting you,” the kid replied.

“No, she’s on moonstone duty and I’m on Elena patrol,” Damon told Jeremy.

He had a very good idea just where the little witch was at the moment, though. He should have seen it coming, too, because she was god-awful when it came to being sneaky.

Then, things got even worse when Alaric called him to inform him that some chick was poking around for Mason Lockwood and had had Sheriff Forbes declare him a missing persons. He was almost positive that said chick was a werewolf.

These issues left him torn between doing two things:  He could hunt Bonnie down and chew her out for being an idiot or he could try to nip the new werewolf problem in the bud.

He decided to go with the easier of the two:  the werewolf.

He would just deal with Bonnie later.

 

*   *   *   *   *

As Bonnie crouched down to light the white candles surrounding her, she couldn’t help but continue to cast paranoid looks at the buildings around her.

“There’s a clear view of the moon and it’s private,” Luka said. “That’s good.”

She resisted the urge to scoff at his use of the word ‘private.’

“You know, if anyone looks out, they’re going to think we’re nuts,” she told him as she stood up.

Choosing to ignore that comment, the warlock asked, “So, what is this mysterious talisman you want to bind?”

She pulled the moonstone out of her pocket and handed it to him.

“A white rock. Fascinating…” he said dryly.

Bonnie smiled, remembering a similar reaction she had had when she first laid eyes on the ugly little rock everyone wanted.

“I know it doesn’t look like much…”

“What’s it spelled with?” He held it closer to his face to examine it.

She scrunched up her face, not sure what to tell him.

“Really?” he asked.

She wordlessly shook her head.

“Help a girl out and she still keeps secrets.”

_Way to make me feel bad…_

“I’m sorry,” she said apologetically.

“I’m just teasing you,” he assured her with a smile. Then, he took one of her hands, placed the moonstone in it, and gripped both her hands firmly, yet gently.

Taking that as a sign to begin the spell, she closed her eyes and began to chant.

She could feel the warmth of magic flowing through her body along with the extra strength that Luka was providing. She couldn’t help but smile when the stone exploded in a burst of bright sparks.

For once it seemed like she finally managed to accomplish something without any major issues.

 

*   *   *   *   *

 _What a clusterfuck,_ Damon thought as he poured himself yet another drink. On the list of everything wrong, he didn’t even know where to start.

Rose had a werewolf bite that he was fairly positive would end fatally, the werewolf bitch herself wanted his head on a platter, Elena made some half-ass deal with Elijah, the damon warlocks were working for the bastard, and to top it all off, Bonnie had trusted little warlock boy to help her destroy the moonstone and now Elijah had it.

Downing the rest of his drink, Damon picked up his cellphone.

_I can have it out with the witch and get her help with Rose all in one call. Talk about efficiency._

He pressed the speed dial and waited for her to pick up.

Bonnie had just stepped out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth when her phone began to buzz on top of her nightstand.

The caller ID told her it was Damon. No doubt he knew about her excursion by now and was calling to give her a piece of his mind.

She considered ignoring the call, but she didn’t put it past him to hunt her down if she didn’t answer. Hell, she had been expecting him to pop at every turn to yell at her today.

With a sigh, she pressed her thumb down on the answer button.

“Hello?”

“So, you want to hear exactly what went wrong today?” He asked in a pseudo-conversational manner.

“Not particularly,” Bonnie replied dryly as she sat down on her bed. “But I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway, so go right ahead.”

“Stefan’s out of the tomb,” he informed her.

“Uhm, I know you don’t get along with your brother all that well, Damon, but how is that bad?”

“Well, papa warlock got him out. And you know why papa warlock got him out?” he asked, but didn’t wait for her answer. “Because Elijah told him to and our new resident warlocks work for Elijah. You know, the same warlocks you went to to destroy the moonstone even though I told you they couldn’t be trusted. So now Elijah has the moonstone.”

She almost dropped the phone as her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. She didn’t want to believe it, but it made sense. No wonder Luka didn’t mind all her secrecy and wasn’t even mad about her nearly killing him when she tried to get Stefan out of the tomb.

“Oh, and it gets even worse,” he added.

“How?” she asked. “How could it _possibly_ get worse?”

“There’s a new werewolf in town who was asking questions about Mason Lockwood. I pissed her off, she attacked me, Rose got in the way and got bit and, well, you’ve heard werewolf bites are fatal to vampires, right?”

“She’s dead now?” Bonnie asked. At this point she was just considering dropping the phone, curling up at the bottom of her bed under her covers and never coming out. They had actually managed to find a place _beneath_ rock bottom and she had a feeling they would soon find a whole other place beneath _that._

“Not yet,” Damon corrected her.

“God…” she rubbed a hand over her face. Why couldn’t anything ever go right? Was it really too much to ask for?

“So what now, Damon?”

The vampire in question actually pulled the phone away from his ear in surprise. He had expected her to scoff and call him an idiot for laying into her about her screw-up when he had obviously screwed up too.

“Can you try to find some sort of way to heal the wolf bite?” he asked her. “I’m still trying to figure out what to do about the Elijah problem.”

“Okay,” she replied.

“Okay?” He certainly hadn’t expected it to be _that_ easy considering she didn’t like him and she liked Rose even less.

“That’s what I said, didn’t I? You must be going deaf in your old age.”

Damon felt the corners of his lips tilt upwards at that. It sounded like the little witch was fine after all.


End file.
